This is how a cartoonist at one of Israel’s biggest daily newspapers interpreted Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s comment that Emily Hand, kidnapped by Hamas during its October 7th attacks, had been “lost”.
Mr Varadkar’s remarks drew criticism from Israeli politicians, including foreign minister Eli Cohen. Mr Cohen accused Mr Varadkar of “losing his moral compass” in the choice of word, saying: “Emily Hand was not ‘lost’, she was kidnapped by a terror organisation worse than Isis that murdered her stepmother.”
Ireland’s ambassador to Israel, Sonya McGuinness, was today summoned by the foreign minister for a reprimand over Mr Varadkar’s post.
After the nine-year-old Israeli-Irish girl, whose father Tom Hand is from Dún Laoghaire, was released on Saturday, Mr Varadkar tweeted: “This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.”
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His fuller statement, issued on Saturday but not posted on his X account until Sunday, continued: “A little girl was snatched from her home and held captive for almost seven weeks. She spent her ninth birthday as a hostage. We hope she will soon heal and recover from the traumatic experience in the loving embrace of her family.”
The left-leaning Haaretz newspaper published a cartoon by Amos Biderman which shows Mr Varadkar about to embrace Emily Hand. “Where were you hiding?” he asks. The cartoon features a Hamas terrorist emerging from a tunnel.
The paper stated that “Ireland has long been critical of Israel’s policies regarding the Palestinians.
“In 2014, each house of Ireland’s parliament passed two resolutions calling on the government to formally recognise a Palestinian state.”
It also referred, though, to a quote from Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin who stated his country was antagonistic toward Israel.
“The assumption that is sometimes made in Israeli media and public discourse that Ireland’s position on the conflict is evidence of hostility is simply wrong,” Mr Martin is quoted as saying in the paper.
Mr Varadkar’s spokesman said today that the Taoiseach was referring to the lyrics in the song Amazing Grace in referring to Emily as “lost”.
Mr Martin said on Monday that the meaning of Mr Varadkar’s statement was “very clear” and that its core message was “absolute relief at the release of Emily Hand”.
Mr Varadkar’s post on X has caused offence in Israel. An editorial in the English language Jerusalem Post was headlined “What is up with Ireland?”
The editorial continued: “What is troubling is that the Irish premier’s post corresponds with his country’s long-time and highly problematic position.
“While leaders from the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States have voiced support for Israel’s right to defend itself, Varadkar said early on in the war that although it has a right to defend itself, ‘Israel doesn’t have the right to do wrong,’ adding: ‘To me, [Israel’s military campaign] amounts to collective punishment’.
